Thinkfilm Llc DVD
1 hr 46 mins
Director: NimrÚd Antal
Lurking beneath the city streets is the grimy, mechanized world of the ever-suffering subway ticket inspector in director NimrÚd Antal’s “Kontoll,” which veils a compelling drama with thriller elements for a great mix of humor and suspense. It is set in the Budapest underground, and director Antal wisely chooses to never show us the light from above: All the action takes place in the confines of the subway tunnels and occasionally at a grimy cafeteria and meeting hall where the inspectors trade insults and war stories, all cloaked in an aura of self-loathing and deprecation.
We are introduced to Bulcs˙ (S·ndor Cs·nyi, a Hungarian Marlon Brando) napping on the subway platform, then rising amid the erratic hum of the fluorescent lights. He impassively wipes away his morning nosebleed (we have a feeling this is common) and sets out to his daily meeting with the other ticket inspectors. We learn from his meeting that the inspectors are the lowest on the job circuit -their status is one of vermin whose only function is to verify passenger ticket stubs so as to bust riders taking advantage of the ancient ticketing system. The boss wants to crack down even more, setting up quotas and badgering the already exhausted men, all of them with skin of a strange grayish hue.
BulcsË™’s team is made up of some of the surliest and dim-witted the job could offer: Professor (Zoltan Mucsi) sadly treats the job like his own personal calling, trying to apply a philosophical edge to his thankless profession; Tibi (Zsolt Nagy) is the newcomer whose enthusiasm becomes a naive crusade against the tyranny of the impatient passengers; and Muki (Csaba Pindroch), whose narcolepsy starts to drag the team’s already failing enthusiasm down a few circles in their hellish workdays.
There has been some mischief on the platforms recently: A lone man cloaked in an ominous black-hooded sweatshirt has been pushing passengers into the oncoming trains. The management refuses to believe it is a serial killer, but every so often BulcsË™ has glimpses of the man hiding behind the pillars and ducking round corners. Another distraction is a cute commuter in a bear costume, whose flirtations are signals for BulcsË™ to take the escalator to the surface.
What makes “Kontroll” unique is its lighter moments that seem to dominate and balance the darker tones of the film. They could have descended into glib action film banter (which usually indicates a lack of imagination) but instead seem to be the backbone of the story. The characters breathe their lives to the audience through their gripes and painful gasps of air (when usually chasing down some poor punk), and their pangs add to our empathy. Never have I found a film so interested and celebratory of the sufferings of the workingman.
“Kontroll” ultimately treads the line of pretension, with a strange hallucinatory rave in the tunnels being held at the end of the film while BulcsË™ trails his stalker. It feels as if director Antal knew this was what audiences expected rather than this is what was needed. It could have been something more inspired to complement the rest of this ingenious little film.
–Joe Ramirez
Appeal over redevelopment project at old Chevron HQ coming to San Ramon councilApril 6, 2026 10:32 pm
